The present invention is directed to portable work surfaces, and in particular to a portable desk or office device for use in vehicles as both a storage medium and a portable laptop computer or typing support, and/or writing surface.
People regularly conduct business away from fixed locations such as offices or homes. In such cases, individuals such as salespersons, contractors, and truckers frequently travel using motor vehicles to reach their contacts or destinations.
Along with reaching remote locations, traveling by motor vehicle enables these individuals to transport many of the items they may need to conduct their business, such as cellular phones, PDA's, documents, files, laptop computers, pens, paperclips, and the like. By having such items in their vehicle, business people are better equipped to efficiently and effectively conduct a broad scope of business without having to make multiple trips between the location of their business contacts and fixed office environments.
However, the glove boxes, center consoles, and door pockets of most motor vehicles are ill equipped to contain the wide array of business and office equipment needed by individuals conducting business “on the road.” As such, the motor vehicles of these individuals can become cluttered, making it hard to find needed items or even resulting in lost items, thereby reducing the efficiency of business people conducting mobile business. Such equipment is also likely to move about the vehicle passenger compartment when the vehicle is driven, making it even more difficult to find specific items, and searching for items while driving is an unsafe practice that may lead to accidents. Furthermore, in the event of an accident, loose items in the passenger compartment of a vehicle can become dangerous projectiles that may injure the occupants.
Another difficulty with conducting business from a vehicle is that there are inadequate surfaces upon which to write or type. Center consoles are generally narrow and awkwardly positioned and vehicle seats are low and sloped, forcing the individual to lean over and twist him or herself. Furthermore, as laptop computers and the ability to remotely send and receive data have become more commonplace and enabled a greater scope of business to be conducted on the road, the use of such computers and the amount of typing thereon has greatly increased.
Therefore, what is needed is a device to contain and organize business and office items used by individuals transacting business from motor vehicles. Additionally, adequate writing or typing surfaces are needed in the passenger compartment of such vehicles to enable typing and writing to be conducted more efficiently and effectively.